


Reaching for the stars

by navaan



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Ficlet, Gen, Gen Fic, POV Female Character, Personal Growth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 19:22:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6870289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/navaan/pseuds/navaan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sara learns to appreciate the stars. All it needed was her life to turn a little more science-fiction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reaching for the stars

**Author's Note:**

> Little reaction piece for _Legends of Tomorrow_ and character study for Sara.
> 
> You can also read this story and comment on it on Livejournal [here](http://navaan.livejournal.com/273807.html). Feel free to friend or contact me there.

When Sara watches TV it's all about fashion, stars and starlets, lifestyle and teenage drama. She watches some shows for the hot guys, but even then she's never been one to sit down and follow plot religiously. She's not here for that. Perhaps Laurel has a point when she accuses her of watching the stuff that has no real plot to speak of, but Sara isn't invested enough to even think about it.

Perhaps one of the things she's having trouble with is being invested.

Laurel is into movies more than TV shows, but when she watches TV it's for procedural and spies and sometimes lawyers and judges. 

Sara blames it on her dad, but it might just be that Laurel enjoys the solving of mysteries.

Neither of them is into sci-fi or fantasy, so Sara has no idea how it happens that after Laurel pulls her from one of the worst parties of her life, holds her head while she wretches over the sink and then pats her back while she cries curled up on the sofa they end up watching a Star Trek something or other marathon. It's all the same to her, but even she knows about the Starship Enterprise.

“I have no idea what they are talking about,” Sara admits after a while with a sniff. She likes the captain and the Klingon, but the whole Q thing makes her head hurt even worse than it already does. 

“Come on,” Laurel says. “Don't complain. It's just stupid TV.”

“Why do people even watch that? It's not like we're every going to have that kind of life. Like ever.”

“Have you never dreamed of the stars?” Laurel asks and she sounds so serious. Sara can't figure out if she's still pissed at her for sneaking out on her while their parents are away for the weekend, or if she's trying to be funny. Perhaps she means it, which is strange because Sara knows she isn't into that kind of stuff either.

“Nope,” she says and it's not a lie. “Have you dreamed of being James Bond? Ever? I know you like that spy stuff.”

“No,” Laurel answers and it doesn't sound like an admission. “But that's different, isn't it?”

Sara doesn't dream of spaceships and she doesn't have much use for heroes. She likes to have her fun and live her life to the fullest. Laurel may turn up her nose at her sometimes, but Sara knows she will still love her even if she doesn't become a superspy or an FBI agent or joins NASA.

And god damn it, who would want to pilot a spaceship? Looks complicated and dangerous and like too much work altogether.

Even on TV.

* * *

In a way she's glad that she'd never had much time for pop culture and nerd stuff, because one day she wakes up and realizes, in a haze of blood lust and anger, that she has come back from death – and for real this time. That's her life now: She is a trained assassin. She tried to be a hero and can never be sure if she'd succeeded. At least she is a professional in the field. If she would ever meet James Bond, she would hand his ass to him and then ask him out on a date just to mess with him.

Because she could.

But nothing – not training with the League, not surviving, not the Lazarus pit, none of it – prepared her for this. 

“Gideon,” she says. “Are we still on track?”

“We are still on course, Miss Lance,” the altogether too human computer voice answers.

Sara knows love again, knows connection and teamwork. The bloodlust has left her. It's mostly under control. She's not a monster. Just a survivor. And when she had her grip back on humanity she can go back home, and perhaps find her way back to the people she loves and left behind.

For now her loyalty is to the team.

But nothing, really nothing prepared her for the emotions that come when she sees a new universe being born or the profound sadness when she watches a sun dying. Nothing prepares her for the rush that comes with piloting a space ship – a time ship – to places that aren't past or future earths. It's a thrill and if she was good at killing, then she is fucking amazing at piloting. She doesn't even need someone to tell her, she just knows.

“Need me to take over, Miss Lance?” Hunter asks, but he's bent over a chart – as if he has no intention of even walking over.

“No, no, I'm good.”

Snart grins at her as if she's made a joke, but she knows what he's thinking.

And Sara silently agrees. _Yes, Sara, you're good._

She never appreciated the idle dreaming about stars and spaceships and time travel; not when she'd been a stupid kid and not when she'd become the survivor or the disciplined well-trained assassin. But now she would never give up her part in this for the world. Perhaps she's never been so whole.

At the very least she knows that the stars and this feeling will always be with her. And one day she will go back home and know she's not a monster, but have the song of the stars in her forever. 

She's Sara. The White Canary. An assassin trying to be a hero. And if Captain Hunter doesn't look out, she's going to woo Gideon into giving her his title.

Captain Lance always had a nice ring to it.

Her dad will find it hilarious. And Laurel will hug her, proud, taking it in stride.

She can't wait to one day tell him and mum and Laurel about all of it. She can't wait to tell Nyssa. 

The stars are beautiful and now she finally knows why they are worth dreaming about.

**Author's Note:**

> You can also find me on [tumblr ](http://navaan.tumblr.com/). This fic has a post [on there](http://navaan.tumblr.com/post/144445673369/ficlet-reaching-for-the-stars-sara-lance-g) in case you want to comment/review/reblog there. [My ask box](http://navaan.tumblr.com/ask) is open if you have questions.


End file.
